Jesus did a lot more with His disciples than travel around the countryside raising the dead and performing amazing miracles. They were perhaps the overflow of the real work, or that section of the iceberg that is visible above the water line.

As we move towards Vision Sunday, more than ever we need to focus and build what is below the waterline, or the stuff that is unseen that supports and sustains what is and will be seen.

Matthew 10:1(NLT)Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.

In the previous chapter Jesus asks His disciples to pray for workers. Next, He sends them out but not before calling them together and empowering them with His authority to go…

All of us would like to live a life with more authority, hallmarked with miracles and healing. There were three key factors that took place before Jesus sent His disciples out.

Prayer

Gathering

Empowerment (or receiving authority)

As we move to Pop Up Festival and Vision Sunday, let’s heat up the value of prayer, gathering and receiving His authority through coming under His authority.

We are so excited about what God is stirring in us for this year and beyond. This theme ‘into the wild’ is both for us as individuals and as a team.

As we’ve heard Ps Dave say recently. We are not called to live stuck. We’re called to be moving forward in the things of God, taking territory, to see God’s Kingdom established.

Our key verse as a Creative Team for this year is.

Isaiah 43:19 (NLT)For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Are there perhaps some dry wastelands in your world at the moment? Do you feel stuck? Do you feel stagnant; not moving forward? Do you hear God’s voice calling you deeper or are there too many distractions? Do you have faith and expectation for God’s plans and purposes for your life? Are you prepared to exercise your faith to be lead by God to that next place, into the unknown, into the wild?

Those are questions only you can answer and are about your personal discipleship journey. But as we think about this team and where God is calling us collectively, some questions that spring to mind are?

Are we playing it safe, staying in our comfort zone? Are we just going through the motions? Are we moving forward and developing in our gifts? Are we exercising our faith every time we lead worship? Are we coming with expectant hearts? Are we holding back or are we forging ahead to where the Holy Spirit is leading us? Are each of us realizing the role we play in creating worship atmospheres or are we leaving it up to the worship leader? Are we fully preparing and honing our gifts so that each time we’re setting atmospheres of worship, we’re focused on one thing and one thing only…Jesus?

‘INTO THE WILD’ is the theme for 2018.

The Bible says in Psalm 22:3 that He actually lives and dwells in our praises. This is the mystery and the miracle of the breakthrough power and presence of God when we worship! When we worship, we affirm the truth of God’s Word, and it is being established deep in our hearts.

Every person is created to be a worshiper. God dwells and manifests Himself in the praises of His people. It is, I believe, our collective prayer to write songs and lead worship so that the breakthrough power of God would bring the lost to Him.

So let’s look again at what worship is.

Worship Is A Battlefield

Worship is how we allow God to fight our battles for us. You may be familiar with the story of Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20:22 says, “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated” (NIV). What a strange battle plan–but the result was that the Lord won the battle for them!

There is something inherent in the act of worship that enables us to encounter the power of God like nothing else. It is not effective to simply tell someone to stop worrying; stop being proud; stop being self-consumed, distracted, insecure, bound and materialistic. But it is effective to tell them to start worshiping. When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Jesus, we quickly realize that God has already begun to release the grip these tendencies can have on our lives.

Worship Is A Declaration

Worship is also a declaration of our weakness and God’s strength. So, challenge yourselves, in your next point of need to make that hard choice to be a worshiper and let the breakthrough God fight your battle for you. It has to start with us. We as a team are leading from the front foot. We are leading our congregation into God’s presence and into breakthrough.

When we worship, the invisible God is at work doing invisible and powerful things. We get realigned, refreshed and refueled; we find unspeakable joy and indescribable peace. We discover the breakthrough strength of God, which enables us to walk in the truth and live in His presence. It is how we can put the beauty of the Gospel on display, receive His many blessings and at the same time be a blessing to the world.

Worship unleashes the prophetic

Prophetic atmospheres create a space for revelation to come. It is crucial that we as a team, learn how to steward prophetic atmospheres. Powerful moments ignite when God’s words are heard. Worship songs are like runways to the prophetic (when David played over Saul, Saul was delivered).

True worship is never one-sided and always involves interaction with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). His voice can be heard anytime, anywhere, but is most consistently and accurately discerned in the context of worship. When people sense God, hear from God, and meet with God during worship, it has the potential to change them for eternity.

Worship is an act of faith

Releasing a prophetic atmosphere in our worship services is really about faith and awareness: faith that God desires and will in fact speak to His people as we worship Him, and awareness as the Holy Spirit leads us.

Exodus 13:20-22
They moved on from Succoth and then camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness. God went ahead of them in a Pillar of Cloud during the day to guide them on the way, and at night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light; thus they could travel both day and night. The Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night never left the people.

Are we willing to be lead to those places that are unknown; where our trust is 100% in Him, be lead ‘INTO THE WILD’?

So, how do we do that I hear you ask?

Be open to the prophetic

1 Cor. 14:1 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”

Believe it or not, prophets prophesy. They look at a situation and they deliver God’s heart. They speak the mind of God.

We need more creative hearts & minds like this – people who are less in tune with their guitars or computers or sound desks, and more in tune with what the Holy Spirit is saying.

People who lead in the present reality and power of the Holy Spirit. It’s leadership from the inside out.

The people of God need more than incredible musicality.

Are you willing to go deeper?
Are you willing to listen to the Holy Spirit?
Are you willing to prophesy?
Are you willing to go ‘into the wild’?

Know Your Authority in Christ

Creative Team, it is important that we know the power of the Gospel. Inside and out. Backwards and forwards. The authority we have in Christ is essential to worship.

That is what we are reminding our congregation of. That is what the Holy Spirit is awakening in God’s people. They don’t need to stay buried in depression, anxiety, and disappointment. They are children of the King and need to declare that truth.

Knowing your authority as a believer will bring a fresh energy and intensity to your gift and your role.

Trust the Holy Spirit

Prepare like it all depends on you, but lead like it all depends on the Holy Spirit. Too often we as humans leave out the Holy Spirit. We pay homage to him in our prayers but we trust more in our ability than we do His ability to awaken the dead.

What if you implicitly trusted the Holy Spirit this weekend? What if you were relaxed, following His leadership? What if you knew beyond a shadow of doubt that He was moving? How would that influence your role this Sunday?

Let’s realize that creating an atmosphere where the voice of God is heard is an act of faith.

Heb. 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

It doesn’t take faith to perform worship songs. It doesn’t take faith to sing tenor, play an instrument, or run a sound desk. But it does take faith to believe that the singing of songs, playing of instruments, and operating of technical equipment will actually bring a change to the atmosphere that enables people to connect with the Living God.

Make space for the spontaneous and unpredictable.

When we take the spontaneous and supernatural conversation out of our worship, it becomes lethargic! Without the divine interaction of God’s voice, worship times will always be reduced to a formula, a song list, or a religious form that we refine and repeat. What we desire in our worship is the life, excitement, and anticipation that comes when people are hearing from and meeting with God! This prophetic atmosphere was a consistent element in the New Testament Church and is still available today.

1 Cor. 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

Engage Fully

When it’s game time, pour your entire being into worship. The more vulnerable you can be the better leader you’ll become. When you are practiced up and fully prepared, it’s so much easier to enter into worship.

Don’t be afraid to cry when you’re overcome by the love of God. Don’t be afraid to kneel. Dance without shame. The best creative teams put their private life of worship on display. They are authentic worshipers in front of people. No farce. No filter. Nothing is fake.

Don’t rely on your incredible vocals or technical ability. When it’s time to worship, forget everything but worship. Pour out your heart and engage yourself fully.

Eliminate Distractions

This teaching does not just apply to those on stage who are singing, speaking, or playing. It actually applies to everyone from the carpark to the kids area and beyond! Let’s look at one example. Let’s say we’re using lighting and visual effects to enhance the worship experience, which we do. If the lighting and camera people are not sensitive and consciously involved in creating the worship atmosphere, they can become more of a distraction than a blessing. Distractions can come in many shapes and forms. So let’s do what we can to eliminate them.

Guard your heart

1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

We need to be aware of the plans and schemes of the enemy and be on guard. You cannot go into the wild un-prepared and un-protected.

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

We need to be responsible for our own discipleship. Let’s grasp the eternal consequences of our character development. Let’s make this year the year that we each get ourselves a spiritual coach. Someone who has your back, who is a bit further on in the journey of faith who can encourage you and equip you and keep you accountable. Why don’t you make that one of your personal goals this year.

As we truly praise, the atmosphere is changed and God is enthroned. Our heart-felt expressions of worship literally set up a zone of God’s authority and His kingdom is established on earth. When we realize the power and significance of this one principle, it can change the way we view our role in the Creative team as well as the way we approach the precious moments when we come together for our worship services.

Psalm 27:1-8 (NLT)
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
Be merciful and answer me!
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

God is calling us out. He is calling us into the wild. Our response to Him needs to be ‘Lord, I am coming.’

It is time in 2018 to step into the calling God has for us. To really tap into what the Lord is saying. It’s time to prepare like we never have before. It’s time to expect the Spirit of God to move. It’s time to take the limits off.

It is time to allow the Holy Spirit to take us places that we haven’t been before in worship; into the unknown, the un-walked paths, the un-sung songs, the wilderness, the prophetic, the faith zone, where we are hungry, expecting the unexpected … into the wild.

Prayer Points

1) Pray for sensitivity and awareness of the leading of the Holy Spirit for every worship experience.

2) Ask for, long for, and earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit to operate in our church gatherings:

3) Pray for a brand new level of faith and expectancy that God will meet with us as we intentionally make new places for his voice to be heard during worship.

4) Ask the Lord to make our place of worship a place where people meet with, hear from, and are radically changed by God… every week!

5) Ask the Lord what taking that next step ‘into the wild’ looks like for you this year, both in your personal walk with God and in your role in this team.

6) Ask the Lord to show you who could be your spiritual coach and for courage to pursue further spiritual development.

At our Encounter Night and Live Recording were really blessed and encouraged as we experienced a new sound and a fresh move of the Holy Spirit.

As some of the leaders discussed and debriefed the night, we talked about what the difference was compared to our Sunday services. And two of the things we came up with were expectation and preparation. Those two things we know we can control.

As a church we have a new sound as we speak out the sound of victory.

Psalm 144:9 says:

IwillsinganewsongtoYou, OGod;

OnaharpoftenstringsIwillsingpraisestoYou

The new bar has now been set, but if we are going to make that atmosphere of worship our new norm, we must be a team who is prepared and expectant. We started this year with the theme ‘expect to encounter’. And I believe we are seeing the fruits of lifting our level of expectation. In this next season, we want to focus on our preparation as a team.

preparation

ˌprɛpəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

noun: preparation

the action or process of preparing or being prepared for use or consideration.

As we all know, leading worship is much more than a gig. First and foremost, we are servants. We contribute our gift to help facilitate people’s encounter with God.

That’s why we practice, prepare, and invest hours in this ministry.

You see, preparation is essential for creative teams.

But you knew that. You know you can’t just show up cold turkey; however, I suspect that we all don’t come as prepared as we should be.

Private Task:

Write down, on a scale of 1-10, how prepared you think you are for a Sunday service. One number for practical preparation and one number for spiritual preparation.

WhyPrepare?

We don’t prepare because our reputation is on the line.

We don’t prepare because the Worship Leader said so.

We prepare because the people of God are coming together to meet with their Maker.

Preparation means different things to different people. Let’s take a look at some ways to prepare and as we do, I want you to write down 3 things that you could work on in this next season to become better prepared for this ministry.

Practical Preparation

FocusedPrayer

When you pray, pray with intention. Matter of fact, I would suggest making a list.

PrayforyourPastor – pray for God to fill him with encouragement and revelation. Leading a church is no small feat. Pray that he would stay close to the heart of God and lead with wisdom.

PrayforyourWorshipLeader – Beyond supporting your worship leader with musical preparation, pray for God’s anointing and strength upon his or her life. Pray for strength to lead people in genuine, authentic worship.

PrayforyourCongregation – anything is possible in the presence of God. This Sunday could be a catalyst of change in many people’s lives. Pray for that. Pray for the lost to be saved. Pray for people to encounter God.

IntentionalListening

You can tell when a musician is prepared or when they’re winging it. I want to challenge the musicians here in your musical preparation. Before you pick up your instrument to practice, become an intentional listener.

Here’s how:

Pull out a pad of paper, listen to the songs for Sunday, and create your own charts as you listen. Chart EXACTLY what you hear on the recordings, measure by measure.

The goal here is to know the ins and outs of every song in the setlist.

Don’t make your worship leader tell you what to do. Don’t just fumble through a chord chart. Chord charts don’t tell you enough about the structure of the song and what your particular instrument is doing.

Listen very closely and ask yourself these questions:

When does my instrument ENTER the song?

When does my instrument NOT play?

What type of tone does my instrument sound like?

How is my instrument complementing the other instruments?

The more you do this, the more your musicianship will excel. This concept is ideal for the sound technicians also in knowing the ins and outs of the Sunday setlist before the Sunday.

PlayIt

After you’ve created your own charts of entire songs, play them through a few times. Play along with the recording. Shut off the recording and play the whole song by yourself. Close your eyes and play it through again. Stand up and play it again.

You don’t have to do this for 6 hours a day, unless you have the time. We recommend taking a day to chart and another day to practice BEFORE rehearsal (So Tuesday and Wednesday). We want to enter each rehearsal 100% ready. (And yes, this means that Worship Leaders need to have their songs in by Monday mornings at the latest).

PracticeStagePresence

It helps for those on stage to think through how we look. I know that may sound vain, but it’s anything but. People may not always recognize if you’re musically prepared, but they can see…you.

Do you look bored? Are you as stiff as a board? Where are you looking? Are you listening to the preacher or are your eyes wondering? Are you energetic and moving around? Are you smiling? Are you engaging with the congregation?

Yes, you need to practice in front of a mirror no matter how silly you may feel.

Are you worshiping? Is it visible? If you’re on stage, it’s your responsibility to visibly worship.

No excuses. Let’s prepare for it.

SetUpEarly

We all know there’s nothing more frustrating than someone showing up late, especially if he or she has a lot of setup to do.

Let’s refuse to be like that. (and I’m speaking to myself here). Commit to showing up early.

Early setup is essential for band, singers & all production personnel. Not only are you prepared, you’re ready to begin when rehearsal starts.

Prepare Your Attitude

I know, we’re all creative types, we all have strong opinions. But let’s remember, we’re here to serve.

Before you even show up, decide beforehand that you’ll do whatever it takes to serve your pastor, your worship leader, and the congregation.

Not only will you humble yourself, you’ll engage more with the entire service.

SpiritualPreparation

Themoreyoudosomething, themorefamiliaritbecomes. The more familiar something becomes, the less you think about it. The less you think about it, the easier it is to fake it.

That’swhyIthinkthemoreyouleadworship, themoreyouneedtoprepareyourheart. The longer your lead worship the more intense your heart preparation should be.

Here’s why:

Worshipisamatteroftheheart – It’s not an external observance of religion or songs. It’s the response of your heart. If you don’t prepare your heart, you’ll be more prone to engage emotionally but be passive spiritually.

IthelpsyourealizeyourdependenceonGod – preparing your heart is a reminder that you can do nothing apart from the moving of the Holy Spirit. You are dependent on God to have an encounter with God.

ItmakesyoumoresensitivetohowtheHolySpiritismoving – when you prepare your heart for leading worship, you’re more sensitive to His voice as you’re leading. You’re more inclined to see how He is moving and what the congregation needs to do next.

Itkeepsyoufocusedonwhatmatters – when you’re spiritually prepared, you’re not as concerned about songs and arrangements. Those things are important, but the engagement of the congregation and the presence of Jesus are so much more deserving of your attention. When you ignore the preparation of your heart, trivial matters tend to steal the show.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b] 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.[d]

This year we’ve had a focus on breakthrough. It’s not God’s will for you to be or feel stuck. Jesus came that we would have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).

In Church life we’re comfortable talking about spiritual and emotional breakthrough, but perhaps less so when it comes to financial breakthrough, or living in a greater degree of financial freedom. Our heart is that you can become someone that breaks through in all areas of life.

One of the greatest pressures we experience in life is money. Statistics tell us 50% of marriages end in divorce because of money issues. It’s a big subject and we believe as a church we need to address it from a God perspective; we’re comfortable talking about many other of life’s challenges so we should talk about money.

In Church we hear a lot about giving and generosity, but perhaps less about the subject of money. Perhaps you even feel like you’ve been faithful in giving and embraced a generous spirit, but haven’t experienced the level of financial freedom you would like.

This Sunday, we commence a five week series, “God Money and Me”, which is a holistic look at money from a God perspective. It’s all about seeing you become more financially empowered and not being ruled by the power and pressure of money.

Our speaking team will be teaching this subject at our morning services (10:00am Hobart and Derwent Valley) for the next five weeks and we will also have the opportunity to discuss and study the subject in our connect groups. Your connect group leader will have the study guides and video and audio material.

Let’s embrace this together as we continue to walk into new areas of breakthrough.

As we have been in a season of focusing on BREAKTHROUGH as a church, my prayers have changed for this team. Often I will be praying for more people, or for a new found passion or leaders to rise up, for new ideas to be forged, but recently my prayer has been for our team and our church to experience breakthrough in worship.

Now what that exactly looks like, I am not 100% sure, but I know that we haven’t got there yet. There is so much more to experience in worship, so many more God encounters, so many prophecies untold. I am convinced that ‘we haven’t been this way before’, that our worship is about to shift.

A few Sundays ago I was leading worship and there was a real sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was a beautiful atmosphere and the congregation were engaged in the worship. There was a moment there where I actually felt like I should get on my knees and kneel before our heavenly father. But something stopped me and I haven’t been able to get that out of my mind. Why, in that moment did I feel like I couldn’t take that particular posture of worship? The only answer I have been able to come up with is that the little voice in my head saying ‘we don’t do that here’ or ‘what will people think’ or ‘that’s too out there’ etc. held me back. This has caused me to research the different postures of praise and worship and I hope that from here, we can all draw a line in the sand and say ‘we are going to break free in worship, we are going to experience new levels, we are going to throw off anything that holds us back from worshipping like we never have before.

It’s up to us to lead the way.

As a team, let’s engage in the different postures of praise & worship that are found in the Bible. Just like King David, we are invited to find God’s heart and develop an affectionate connection with Him. We are becoming like the One we worship!

The Hebrew words translated as “praise” or “bless” have a deeper meaning than is conveyed in English. They instruct, command or imply the worshiper is to take specific physical action.

Romans 12:1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Biblical worship is expressed not only with our WHOLE LIFE, but with our WHOLE BODY. The Biblical model presents corporate praise has a whole group activity. It is intended for everyone to participate, not spectate. Actions speak louder than words. Your outward expression reveals your heart attitude. Last year we spoke about how we sometimes don’t feel like worshiping and we have to #choosetopraise. Choosing to engage with God will change your attitude. God promises to reward those who choose to draw near to him.

James 4:8
Come close to God, and God will come close to you…

Literally, choosing to praise God is a transformative experience, it renews your mind.

Romans 12:2“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”

This is part of the purpose of worship. We position our hearts so that God can change and conform us to the image of Christ. Worship ‘postures’, or outward expressions of our inward passion, are personal but also to be displayed communally. It is really important that, as a creative team, we understand how to be expressive before Jesus so we can encourage our congregation to use some of these Biblical illustrations to help them to be outward expressers of their inward passion.

Every word that describes worship in the Bible describes a posture of the body – without exception.

So let’s journey through the bible and look at the different postures of praise & worship and what they mean. So get your bibles ready and your pens ready.

Psalm 27:6 (NLT)
Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.

One of my favourite examples in the bible of shouting praise that brought God’s victory is the walls of Jericho.

Joshua 6:20
When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.

Shouting to God – A lot of Christians think to shout means to sing loudly, not at all. It means to shout. Try it! It liberates us!

Barach

Kneel, bless the Lord. Expresses humility.

Kneeling is a physical act that lowers your stature below the one of higher status. It’s actually making you smaller in the presence of someone larger. Kneeling shows humility. It’s the position Jesus took when he prayed “not my will, but your will be done” (Luke 21:41–44). For the longest time kneeling was the position to show repentance. Next time you’re confessing sin or humbling yourself to God’s will, try kneeling.

2 Chronicles 6:12-1312 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. 13 Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1⁄2 feet long, 7 1⁄2 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet high[a] and had placed it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven.

Ephesians 3:14
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,

Isaiah 45:23
I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.”

Philippians 2:9-10
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

A great worshiper: King David, used his hands in multiple ways as he worshiped.

Psalm 143:6
I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.

When you spread out your hands you are open to receive from Him. Interestingly, sometimes it is difficult to hold our hands up for long periods of time. The Hebrew word for glory is the same word for weight. God is putting his glory in your hands.

Towdah

The raised hand. Lift up your hands. Expresses adoration.

Psalm 63:4
I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

Worship is not some rigid posture that you sit in; it’s an activity of the whole body. Clapping has less to do with keeping in time with the music and more to do with triumph. In context, Psalm 47 is about the thundering hand claps accompanying a battle cry of triumph.

Psalm 47:2-3
For the Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King of all the earth.
He subdues the nations before us,
putting our enemies beneath our feet.

Psalm 148 – 150
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens!
Praise him from the skies!
Praise him, all his angels!
Praise him, all the armies of heaven!
Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all you twinkling stars!…

…and that is just a snippet. I encourage you to read through all of those chapters. They are inspiring.

Halal expresses our love for God and who He is, and celebrates His goodness in our lives. It is the expression of love by someone who is madly in love with God and will go to extraordinary lengths to express that love. The words ‘celebrate, boastful, rave, clamour’ give us an indication of the nature of this type of praise. They bring to mind the scenes one may be familiar with of supporters at a sporting event, where people are not afraid to voice their support, celebrate their victory with singing and shouting, lose their inhibitions and boast about their teams’ performance.

Tehillah

Singing scripture to instruct and encourage.

Psalm 33:1
Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him.

Psalm 34:1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

This word means intercession for someone, prayer, supplication, hymn. This is the most general Hebrew word for prayer in the Old Testament. Isaiah 56:7 states that God’s House will be a house of prayer. This was the scripture Jesus was quoting when He drove out the moneychangers from the temple courtyard (Matthew 21:13). This term meant a prayer that was set to music and sung in formal worship.

Kara

Dance.

Psalm 149:3
“Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.”

2 Samuel 6:14-16
And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams’ horns. But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.

Kara means; To dance, leap, bow, worship, rejoice, joy, praise, thanksgiving, be glad – all of these words, when taken back to their root word and original meaning, translate into some form of dance and movement unto the Lord. Essentially, the word Kara means to whirl, leap, jump or skip before the Lord.

Zamar

Playing Instruments

Make music by striking the fingers on strings or parts of a musical instrument. When we play instrumentally to facilitate a holy atmosphere, it’s not just church cocktail music, it’s zamar.

Psalm 33:2-3
Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;
make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

Shachah

Bowing. It is a very significant act of reverence.

Psalm 5:7
Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.

In the NIV is says:But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.

Exodus 4:31
Then the people of Israel were convinced that the Lord had sent Moses and Aaron. When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.

Sagad

Prostrate or falling down.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you.”

This is the most used description of worship we have in the Bible. The root problem of the human race is our desire to depend on ourselves rather than God. Laying prostrate before the Lord demonstrates our total dependence on God.

Genesis 17:3 & 17
3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.”

17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed…

The Lord appeared to Abraham twice.

FIRST: Abraham fell on his face, God talked to him.

SECOND: Abraham fell on his face and laughed.

Abraham was pretty used to being on his face before God. I think if you checked everyone of the great people of the Bible were at one time on their face before God. It is the way to greatness.

I hope this helps bring clarity to why we use outward expressions of worship. While these are certainly not the only outward expressions, each one is Biblically founded.

I hope the meaning of these praise words inspires us to break free of our inhibitions and become more engaged worshipers. Hands in your pockets or arms crossed is not the body language modeled in Biblical worship.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

I hope these actions and attitudes guide our team and our church to be as expressive in our praise as our almighty, all-loving God deserves.

I hope this challenges us to perhaps adjust our Posture of Praise and experience worship in new ways. But whatever we do during prayer or worship. Let’s do it on purpose. Let’s take on a new Posture of Praise and see what God does.

I’ve been having a very encouraging and refreshing time at Hillsong Conference. This morning Jentzen Franklin brought a fantastic message entitled “The Seventh Hand”.

“These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar:”
Ezekiel 43:13 NKJV

A cubit was six handbreadths. A cubit is the distance from your middle finger to the inside of your elbow (your forearm). For most people that will be six handbreadths, six times the width of your hand with your thumb tucked in.

God was showing that the temple would be built to a new measure. Throughout the Bible six is the number of man and seven is the number of God.

What God was showing was that He wanted to add His hand or His spirit and His power to our effort. As we work and do what we can, it will never be all it can be without the hand of God on it.

I believe that’s something God is showing us at the moment.
Breakthrough is not simply about working harder; it’s about doing all we can, being faithful with our part, or our sixth if you like.
Breakthrough happens when God places His hand on our work and our faithfulness.

As we approach another amazing opportunity this Sunday, let’s continue to ask for the hand of God or His spirit on our efforts. As we do what we can, He does what we can’t!
Let’s make room and seek the seventh hand on our efforts.

“I am not praying for the world, but for those ones you have given me, for they are yours”. John 17:9

Those words come from Jesus’ heartfelt prayer for his closest friends and disciples, just before he went to the cross, burdened by the sin and shame of the world. It is such a direct and specific prayer and to me, it reflects so simply the heart of the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus was for everyone; he was scandalously inclusive; his influence has shaped the world more than any other individual’s. He was the hope of the world; that was his mission, but his method was the one. The way he would ultimately reach the world was by extending love to the individual. So he prayed, not for the world, because, as he had stated just a chapter before “take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). No, he prayed for the ones that God had given him.

The power of ministry, as demonstrated by Jesus, is in personal relationships. It is in the awareness that God moves in the space between two people. When we foster a relationship with one of the ones he has given us, we create space for Him to move. The discernment of the Holy Spirit is so vital in maintaining control of this space: sometimes, we may need to create more space for God, by getting out of the way ourselves.

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30

Sometimes we have to get our ego out of the way, sometimes we have to get our offence out of the way, sometimes we have to get our convenience out of the way to make space for God to work.

Sometimes though, we give him a little bit too much space! Sometimes we needs us to move a little closer, to close the gap a little bit, find some common ground. Sometimes we need to reach out, or take a step closer to someone. When we position ourselves according to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, that space is holy ground.

Let’s think about who the ones are that God has given us and, following in the footsteps of Jesus, let’s pray for those ones, because they are His.

Ok Creative Team, I need for you guys look past what may seem a bit nit-picky for a few minutes; allow me to explain. Yes, this is one of my more annoying characteristics, but I believe that the little details matter! The ‘one-percenter’s’ make a big difference to the overall result.

One thing that I’m a very big fan of is a tidy stage. Why? Because it communicates a few things to our church:

You take seriously what you do on stage.

You want to bring your best to God, in every aspect.

You want things to be clean & welcoming for New People.

There is something to having a tidy stage that communicates these things to anyone who joins our church services. We can’t really tell people what to think, but we definitely can influence their perception.

For instance, when someone walks into our church but is looking for any excuse to leave, something as silly as a sloppy looking stage or poorly designed set can be a deterrent. Think about it: you never leave your house dirty when you are expecting guests.

For some people their perception is definitely their reality, even if this seems unreasonable. We have the opportunity to effect that perception to help bring them closer to Jesus, so why not? A messy stage distracts the eye and can also be a hindrance when troubleshooting a problem.

Ok, I’ll assume you’re onboard with me now. Yes, an incredible worship set can go a long way, but let’s leave that for another conversation.

Let’s talk about 3 simple things that we can do to create a more visually appealing stage for our worship services.

CLEAN CABLE RUNS

Clean cable runs are a simple trick to make our stage look neat and professional.

I’m a big advocate of having clean cable runs. If you can, try and group the cables together that are moving along the same path. Think through how you need things to be run before you actually run it. Our Audio Team Leader, Paul Thomason, is AWESOME at this, but we can all help him and the audio team out on this one.

Label Everything!
Audio team – it is very important to carry two things with you at all times; White electrical tape and a sharpie. Before plugging in a microphone or a DI, take the XLR cable, and wrap both ends two or three times with tape. Label the cable on both ends so you know what that cable is going to connect to. That way, you can quickly identify cables at the floor box and know their destination.

90 degree angles!
Have you ever seen a 12 channel floor box with 12 XLR cables all going different directions? It clutters up the stage and it’s an eyesore. Combine as many cables as you can so they travel along a single path, and when they split out to the desired location, they do so at a right angle.

Walk about 3 or 4 rows back from our stage and take a look. No seriously, go ahead and do it this Wednesday or Sunday. What can you notice on stage that doesn’t HAVE to be there? I’m not talking about stuff that needs to be there, but rather the ‘fluff’. Chairs, blacks, music stands, papers, cups, rubbish, guitar cases, excess leads etc. ANYTHING that doesn’t need to be there, take it off the stage.

This is something you can do today, but we need to maintain every single weekend. It needs to become part of our culture as a team. In fact, if we all did this every time we were rostered on, we would have a pretty shmick stage. Stages are NOTORIOUS for being magnets for ‘stuff’, so removing anything that doesn’t have to be there will make our stage look even better immediately.

If there are only one or two people looking out for all these things, then it can get exhausting and even annoying and frustrating.

However, if we ALL take the time to teach and model to new team members the standards of how we do things as a team, then we’ll multiply our efforts. This point has application far beyond a clean stage, but just imagine if EVERYONE saw keeping the stage, the sound desks and even the stage storage rooms CLEAN because they understood that’s just what we do. Sounds pretty great, hey?

This will change how each of our team members view their ownership of each service. Instead of just ‘filling a roster’, which we don’t ever want anyone to think is the case, they’ll be empowered and encouraged to take action to improve the worship service as a whole. Remember; what you are part of is bigger than the part you play. Every person has a vital part to play in this team!

Josh and I can’t just say it once, though. This stuff has to be taught and modelled by all of us, over and over again before it becomes part of our culture. The result of this hard work will be a healthier team culture.

Let’s together work at developing a cleaner, healthier culture in Creative.

To achieve three services in one Sunday has been a massive stretch for this team, but we have witnessed incredible growth in you all and it’s exciting to see what God is doing in you individually. We went on a journey of being early to our knees and learning to be purposeful in our prayer life. We put strategies and processes in place for making sure we are always working on original songs – written out of the heart of this team. We have seen new, amazing leaders rise up. A camera crew and live feed established. And most of all, we have lead our congregation into incredible encounters with Jesus through preparing our hearts and skills to be used by God in worship.

Our worship services and special events are a huge part of what we do as a team and a church.

The purpose of our time of praise and worship in our services is for God to minister directly to each person in attendance – that is our ultimate goal, that every person would encounter God through worship. We seek to encounter God’s tangible presence every time we gather in worship – this can also be referred to as His manifest presence or his glory.

Glory can be defined as “the revelation of the presence of God. It is the manifestation of His presence. He is glory. He is everywhere, but glory is the manifestation of that reality … When glory comes down, it’s a bit of Heaven’s atmosphere coming down to us, a taste of His manifest presence.” – how good does that sound?

The depth of anointing and God’s presence we experience during our worship services is in direct proportion to the condition of our hearts and the time we spend in His presence.

That verse from Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords And strengthen your pegs.” Still remains at the core of the vision of this team and our church. We want to position ourselves for growth. And position ourselves to encounter God’s presence wherever we are.

This year in Creative – we want to expect to encounter God’s tangible presence because we are a team who remain in His presence.

God has promised always to be with us, but often we’re not aware of his constant presence in our lives. The good news is that God loves to be close to us and wants us to know him better. Let’s long to experience more of God’s presence. There are steps we can take that will lead us closer to him, inviting him to make his presence known more strongly in our lives, our team and our church.

So, how do we expect to encounter and experience more of God’s presence?

Let’s remember him

Psalm 77:11-14

But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works. O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.

Remember the passion you felt for God when you first began a relationship with him, and let that motivate you to repent of your sins afresh and return your relationship with God to first place in your heart. Remember what he has done in your life in the past – His unending grace.

Let’s always come back and remember what he has done. And from that place, declare and prophecy what He is going to do.

Let’s seek him out

2 Chronicles 15:1-4 (after King Asa had defeated the Ethiopian million-man army, and he receives this prophecy…)

“Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. 4 But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.

God’s promises are unchangeable, and his word says, “For the rest of your life – as long as you continue to seek me – I will be with you. Whenever you cry out to me, I will always be found.

Anyone can have the abiding presence of the Lord, if he or she will simply seek Him for it. Seek the Lord with your whole heart, and He will come to you with His presence. Indeed, His presence will be an almighty power that emanates from your life!” According to the scriptures, our chief concern is to keep seeking God, to ensure his presence is working through us.

Let’s draw near to God with confidence

Hebrews 4:16

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Keep in mind that God invites you to come close to him and welcomes you with great love, but he is also completely holy and all-powerful, so you should always approach God with the reverence and respect that he deserves – never be flippant about approaching him – he it the almighty, creator of the heavens and the earth. When we play music, sing, mix sound, design lighting shows, write songs, creative visual media displays, dance, or hold a camera steady, let’s know who we are in Christ and be confident in that.

Let’s let go of distractions

Colossians 3:1-2

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Let’s let go of whatever is distracting us from giving God our full attention. Remove distractions from your life so you can experience God to the fullest. Confess and repent of sin in your life regularly, since sin interferes with your ability to perceive God’s presence and grow closer to him. The main distractions we face is life and getting caught up in the world. Reasons for distractions include ourselves, money, hobbies, relationships, mobile phones, TV, facebook and more. Turn your worries into prayers, so anxiety won’t crowd a focus on God out of your mind. “Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.”

Let’s be open to the Holy Spirit

2.Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

We need to open both our heads and our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s work. Pursue getting to know God better through the Holy Spirit’s work in both your mind (such as guiding you when you’re studying the Bible) and in your personal experiences (such as touching your emotions through a tangible encounter that makes you more hungry for God).

Moses was a man, on whom the Holy Spirit was. Even though he experienced God’s tangible presence and glory like many today have not, those in the new covenant possess a far greater treasure. The God of glory Himself now lives in us. When His glory descends, it is not only around us, but the Holy Spirit lives in us, permeating every atom of our being. When we are open to the Holy Spirit’s work, the prophetic will be unleashed in this team.

Let’s be discerning

Proverbs 15:21

Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path.

Let’s not be fooled into thinking that we’re ‘bullet proof’ or that we don’t need to do serious spiritual warfare at times. On the contrary, the Creative team are responsible for leading worship, the first ones to ‘march into battle’ so to speak. Without that understanding, you will leave yourself open to attack. We need to be pro-active in putting on the armour of God for us and for those around us, and discern what is happening in the spiritual realm. We have the authority of Christ to take control over the spiritual atmosphere. We need to be prayed up before we arrive, praying as we enter the building and praying while we are serving. And…not just praying that everything will go well, no, we are praying and declaring what God is going to do!

It is God’s desire that every Christian recognize His voice. And this is something you can learn to do. God wants to communicate with you even more than you want to hear Him. It is so important to have discernment especially as we seek to move more in the prophetic. When we as a team know and can recognize his voice and his presence, we will go to new, unchartered places in worship.

Let’s allow God’s presence to transform us

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Always remember that God’s presence isn’t simply for you to enjoy; it’s meant to inspire you to open yourself up in deeper ways to the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of transforming you into the person God wants you to become.

Let’s choose adventure over safety.

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Let’s decide to take whatever risks we need to take in order to experience the blessing of getting closer to God. Be willing to have God turn your life upside down, reshape your values and redirect your energy. Rather than trying to stay inside your comfort zones, be open to saying “yes” to God whenever he calls you to follow him on adventures. Expect encounters with God that inspire awe and wonder in you. I believe God is stirring our hearts. He’s stirring our hearts to do something great for Him. He is calling us to opportunities to serve others, to restore the brokenness in the lives of others, to serve here at Energizer, to live generous, to listen (above all), to listen to His voice and calling for us.

God is calling YOU to step out of your comfort zone… to do the unusual thing… to do what might seem odd in order to add value to His Kingdom and to our community and to this church! God is looking for men and women who have a heart for Him… who want to grow and are unsatisfied with mediocrity and are willing to live for something bigger than themselves! Let’s be like the great men and women of the bible, like Esther and Nehemiah who took a risk on God and stepped outside their comfort zones. They went down in history because of their faith and obedience. Let’s step out in faith as a Creative team this year as we journey together to expecting encounters. What are we as Creative expecting and prophesying? Is it safe or is it way outside our comfort zones?

Let’s pursue revival.

Exodus 40:34 “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle”. You may have heard about revivals in history or on the news that affect whole churches or entire geographic areas. Keep in mind that large-scale revivals start when individual people like us pursue fresh encounters with God.

Isaiah 64:1-4

Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!

(wow – does that get anyone excited?)

Let’s start with us

Instead of trying to MAKE a tangible encounter with God happen in our services, let’s prepare ourselves for when God decides to manifest his presence to us. The constant presence of God around you (and within you, in the form of the Holy Spirit) that you may or may not sense is his essential presence, while the tangible encounters with God that capture your attention are his manifest presence.

We can’t convince God to show us his manifest presence whenever and however we’d like, no matter how hard we may try or how faithful we may be. God shows up on his terms only, according to his own wisdom and purposes. But we CAN prepare ourselves for encountering God’s presence in the future by making our individual relationships with God our top priority in life and investing it in regularly (such as through prayer, reading of the word, and service), so we’ll grow closer to God and invite him to reach out to us more.

Cultivating our lives for God’s presence isn’t about our own effort as much as it is about responding to God’s initiatives of love and grace sowe’ll be in the right place at the right time, and in the right soul condition, when God shows up.

Scripture provides endless examples of how the presence of God empowers his children to live for him. And one of the most powerful of these is found in the life of Moses (as we mentioned before).

Exodus 33:15 & 16 “Then Moses said, “If you don’t personally go with us, don’t make us leave this place. How will anyone know that you look favorably on me—on me and on your people—if you don’t go with us? For your presence among us sets your people and me apart from all other people on the earth.”

Creative Team – let’s pursue Jesus this year like we never have before. That as we remain in his presence, His presence will remain with us, upon us, and working through us. That we might behold his presence and that his manifest presence would be revealed to us.

2 Chronicles 16:9

9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Seek him with all your heart, and desire his presence in your daily life. Then we will know and experience the incredible glory of God!

Let’s expect to encounter God. Supernatural encounters with God aren’t actually rare; God manifests his presence through the Holy Spirit in tangible ways every day to various people on Earth. So expect to encounter God through his Spirit in a way that you can powerfully sense, whenever God decides that it’s the right time and place to show up in your life that way.

As creative leaders we are believing and expecting that we will experience the touch of God’s presence in unprecedented ways in our worship services this year.

Our encouragement for you is to start to expect encounters with Him that you have never had before. Let’s be prophesying and speaking out what we want to see happen in our church and our community. When we as individuals know God and know His presence, imagine what we can achieve in unity when we together begin to lead our congregation in worship. And this is not just for those on stage. Not at all. We ALL play a vital role in creating an atmosphere where every person in attendance can encounter God through worship. It takes all of us (all our individual skills working together as the body of Christ should and as we are called and anointed to) to achieve that goal.

When we walk into this church to serve, let’s take hold of the spiritual atmosphere and come with expectation that God’s glory is going to be revealed.

When glory comes down, it’s a bit of Heaven’s atmosphere coming down to us, a taste of His manifest presence.”

God will do more through us and in us and around us when we are positioned with expectation. In 2017 let’s expect to encounter his presence.